Whensday

I was thinking about my bed the other night, as I was trying to fall asleep. It’s funny how the mind wanders from one thing to another. Thinking about my bed brought me to some memories of when I was younger.

See, I was thinking how silly I feel having to climb into my bed like a kid, how beds seem so much taller now than when I was younger. Taller up top, but not as much room beneath. I remembered how I used to jump out of my bed when I had a nightmare because I was convinced there was a monster or murderer hiding underneath, just waiting for me to put my foot on the floor. Jumping to the middle of the room and making a run for it seemed safest. Something – or someone! – could be hiding under there!

Then I remembered something that happened when I was in high school.

I used to walk a few blocks out of my way sometimes to meet up at my friend’s house to catch the bus. One day, I knocked on her door and found out that she was staying home from school because she was sick. Her mother had already gone to work for the day so it was nothing for me to simply decide to stay home with her. We had fun playing hooky, until close to lunch time when my friend told me her mother would be home soon and I should probably go. Only, where was I going to go? My mother was home from work that day herself so I couldn’t go there. Quick thinker that I was (oh shut up!) I decided to hide under her bed.

We waited until the last possible minute, as her mother pulled into the driveway, before I wiggled under her bed. I laid there, stifling giggles, for an hour, while she ate some lunch and puttered around, asking her daughter how she felt, if she’d gotten started on homework, that kind of stuff. After she left, I crawled back out and we continued our day of hooky until it was safe for me to go home.

I had some room under that bed. I mean, not like I could do jumping jacks, but it wasn’t an impossible fit, I could turn my head and had some movement if I had an itch or something.

Not like today – my kids couldn’t fit under the beds we have now. And not just because I still keep tons of stuff under it either. For, uh, storage purposes, you know.

On the one hand, I’m glad bed manufacturers have made it pretty much impossible for anyone to hide under beds anymore. On the other hand, I wish I didn’t feel like I was 4 years old every night at bedtime.

And yes, I too, remember the days of beds with space under to play! I would only ever crawl under during the day, because I was petrified at the thought of being under there in the night, especially… and you’ll laugh, after watching a cartoon version of “The Nutcracker Prince”. There is a scene where the rat king comes out from under the girls bed and scares the crap out of her… that didn’t help my night fear any. Then someone let me watch the Poltergeist movies. Not sure why anyone thought it was okay for me to watch them, but they did! Yeah, that clown… irked me for years! Hard to get over thoughts like that when you live across from the graveyard in a 100+ year old house, that you figure it haunted in the first place.

At the same time though, it is safer that kids can’t crawl under beds. I honestly, and truly no not know how my brother, cousins, and I made it out of the 90’s alive. We were constantly playing under the bed at our Nana and Papa’s house, and would jump on top of it… sometimes two of us would be under it, and two jumping on the bed. Then this one day… I don’t remember what we were playing (usually we played two on two type games), but my brother, myself, and our older cousin were jumping around on the bed… and our other cousin crawled underneath.

And the bed broke. Followed immediately by screams, and crying, and panic.

To this day, I am amazed that he didn’t end up breaking his neck or back.

I would love to have space to store the Christmas ornaments under and things like that, and when we visit our niece and nephew, I see him jumping on his little toddler bed, and then I remember that day.

See?! You remember too! :) Funny story about your cousin. Funny now. I bet at the time it was pretty scary. I’d have been screaming too!

You know, I never have seen Poltergeist. I have always been kind of anti scary movies. Then I had to grow up and marry a horror writer. LOL :)

You get about 7″ under the bed now. Good for flatter type boxes but not for the kind of stuff like when we were little. And your story shows me that this is a somewhat recent change.